New STAAR test results are less straight forward

During the era of TAKS testing, the answer to the question, "Did my child pass or fail the state assessment?" was straightforward.

The answer was yes or no, and subsequent reteaching and retesting requirements were clear.

But as schools begin giving the state's new End of Course STAAR tests to ninth graders in March, the answer to that question will be unclear and confusing to many parents, according to several Wichita Falls Independent School District administrators who have been schooled in the intricacies — and peculiarities— of the new tests.

Brace yourself, they warn, because STAAR testing is going to be complicated.

In fact, the eccentricities of this new testing program, particularly at the ninth-grade level in the End of Course tests, are so extreme that WFISD curriculum and testing specialists Debby Patterson and Denise Williams said Thursday that parents must familiarize themselves early with this new breed of testing, or their children will suffer.

This year, schools across the state with introduce STAAR tests — the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness — to students in grades 3 through 8.

Ninth graders will be given the first new End of Course (EOC) assessments.

STAAR is the fifth generation of tests since Texas began its testing program in 1980.

Each new generation of test has been progressively harder, with STAAR tests considered the most challenging of all.

Students in grades 10, 11 and 12 will finish out their high school career on the previous generation of TAKS tests, leaving ninth graders — and their parents — to confront the state's new rules on EOC tests.

Ninth-graders must ultimately pass 12 EOC tests sometime during their high school years: English 1, English 2, English 3, Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, World Geography, World History, and U.S. History.

But Patterson said the first thing ninth-grade parents should require is that their children take the courses and pass the tests as early as possible, well before their senior year.

That will give them their senior year to re-take any test on which they do poorly.

But how poorly can students do and still pass? That's the million dollar question, said testing director Denise Williams.

The state has not yet revealed — even though the first EOC tests begin next month — what the standards are for passing or failing.

However, they do know this: Standards for this year's freshmen will be different than for next year's freshmen — a quirk that high school counselors must track, Williams said.

If a student takes a high school class while still in eighth grade — such as a student taking an Algebra 2 class while still at Kirby Junior High — he will have to take and pass the EOC for the high school class. Such a student will have to go to the high school to take the EOC test.

But Williams said the most complicated detail in EOC testing is the required cumulative score that a child must achieve in each subject area to graduate.

For example, if a student takes all three high school math classes (Algebra 1, Geometry and Algebra 2) and earns a minimum score of 800 on each — enough to pass the course — his cumulative score of the three passing grades (2,400) may not reach the required cumulative score for the core area of, say, 2,700.

(Such cut-off scores and cumulative scores have not been decided by the state yet.)

So, a student who has technically passed each test may still need to re-test, Williams said.

This rule is the opposite of the TAKS system, where retests were not allowed if a student passed with the minimum score.

Before a student retests, he must be retaught, but the state hasn't yet defined the details of the reteaching phase either.

Williams said parents will undoubtedly be confused on this issue, telling teachers, "But my kid passed!" even though counselors will be telling parents and students that the child needs to retest to meet the higher cumulative score.

Peterson said students who pass but fall beneath the state's required cumulative score will naturally think they'll simply do better on the next EOC courses in that subject area. But it's unlikely, she said. "The next time, it will be much more difficult because of the (harder) subject area. What if they don't do better?"

Williams said parents will face situations where their children pass the course but fail the EOC, or who pass the EOC but fail the course. In the latter situation, the student would be required to retake the course and retake the test, she said.

Another peculiarity: A student's score on the EOC assessment will count 15 percent toward the student's final grade in that course, but the late release of test results may complicate grading.

Another grave consequence: Because students will be required the pass the EOC tests of the 12 core high school subjects to graduate, a student who is on a minimum graduation plan and is not required to take a certain math or science course may be discouraged from taking a difficult course because — if he attempts it — he will face the requirement of passing the EOC test.

WFISD already falls significantly below the state in the numbers of students who reach for the harder Distinguished and Recommended graduation programs, and such rules will only encourage more students to opt for the Minimum graduation program that requires less, Peterson said.

"I think that will happen statewide," Peterson said.

Counselors will be required to track all the rules for all the students, a mammoth task, Peterson and Williams agree.

And parents must pay attention and stay involved, said Renae Murphy, public information officer.

"Time is working against you if you don't take the classes early," she said.